I didn’t start really wearing makeup until I was 19, at that time I was all ubergoth all the time so my makeup reflected that. A *lot* of eyeliner and often smeared dark shadow like a budget silent film actress. Maybe not the most detail oriented makeup look I can imagine but I think my background in Goth makeup has taught me to be pretty fearless with creating looks for shoots and on myself. If you’re looking to up your makeup game or maybe just experiment more with color here are 5 tips to doing so, (based on my own experiences as a non-professional smearing goo on peoples’ faces as part of my job for the last 6 years, heh).

1. Practice! If you’ve got a big event or party coming up that you want to do some elaborate makeup for always test drive your makeup once or twice ahead of time in the days before. That way you’ll feel confident the night of when you put it on, no one wants to scrub off and start again the night before a big event. If your aim is to create over the top looks for a photoshoot on another person be sure to try a test run ahead of the shoot on a model or friend, or on yourself.

2. Tutorials! There are tons of youtube and photo tutorials out there for every type of look imaginable. Use those resources to help you try out styles, and then create your own with what you learn. We have a bunch of tutorials the ‘zine (just look under “DIY” on our category search to your right).

3. Don’t Be Afraid To F*ck Up!You can wash makeup off, it’s not permanent. So get messy, go big, try on those ridiculous costume lashes. Didn’t work? Wash it off gently and try again. Keep gentle makeup wipes handy, if you smear your eyeliner or muddy the eyeshadow just remove the bits you don’t like and redo once your skin is dry.

4. Set Aside Time to Goof Around! When I was first getting into doing makeup for our shoots I bought a bunch of makeup books and would just paint myself up when I had free time. It was a zero pressure chance to try out all kinds of techniques and colors and get a feel for a variety of products without worrying about messing up a shoot or my own look for the day. Then I began doing the makeup for our smaller and low-pressure photoshoots until I got comfortable with it.

5. Plan Ahead! If you’re creating a look for a shoot or your own event plan what you want to do ahead of time. It helps to sketch it out and get inspiration photos to look at while you go. I always have rough drawings of the makeup I want to do for a shoot handy and reference them as I work on a model. Planning also helps to make sure you have the right products and colors you need to make it happen.

Hopefully these tips will at least inspire you to get messy and have fun with makeup! It can be a great way to change your entire appearance or express all sorts of concepts and ideas. 🙂

2 Responses to 5 Ways to Get Fearless With Makeup

I still haven’t got the hand of putting make-up on. I just recently found the perfect eyeshadow that even I can apply. xD These are great tips. I fool around with my make-up in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep. It always looks better at night than when I try it again in the morning though. Gah…

It’s tricky for my because my apartment is on the ground level of an apt building, so the lighting is not always so good. Sometimes I’ll put makeup on and think “this is a LOT of makeup” and then go outside and see it and realize it really isn’t…..:P

I finally bought a light up makeup mirror this year, which has helped a looooot. 🙂